Britten: Hymn to St Cecilia, Op. 27

“The Choir of New College, Oxford has a long association with this ever varied repertoire. They give fresh, confident readings – steered with firm authority by director Edward Higginbottom – of A Ceremony of Carols, Rejoice in the Lamb, Missa Brevis and shorter works. The Hymn to St Cecilia, to words of Auden, has particular joy and verve.” The Observer, 24th February 2013

“The two outstanding features are the high quality of the choral singing and the fairly relaxed pace throughout. Higginbottom has said that he finds some of Britten's metronome markings on the fast side...yet they use their time well, finding a depth of colour and expression that yields its own rewards.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013

“With Britten comes the thought of high voices: boys' voices that on this Naxos disc belong to the choir of St. John's College, Cambridge… the St. John's singers roundly capture the elusive tonal qualities of Britten's choral music, and the recording has a proper sense of space and locality.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2000

“As with other recent records from St John's, there's a freshness, almost a feeling of adventure and a sense that all this choral discipline is an easy yoke. These are excellent performances, the opening item setting a standard which is to be maintained throughout. Buoyant rhythms, precise accentuations and well-pointed contrasts are features of the singing; and the playing of Ian Farrington in accompaniments that are often difficult and always demanding of maximum alertness, is outstanding. Outstanding, too, is the contribution of the trebles. In tone they preserve the traditional John's sound, without exaggerating its so-called continental element.
But what impresses most is the sense of imaginative involvement. It's there, for instance, in the Kyrie of the Missa brevis, and most of all in the 'I cannot grow' section of A Hymn to St Cecilia. To this they bring a distinctive excitement, a wideeyed, breathlessly playful feeling of childlike wonder. The programme itself is highly attractive.
The 'hymns' are fully developed compositions, and the canticles are notably independent of tradition (for instance, a quietly meditative note of praise is struck at the start of both Te Deums). The Missa brevis makes inventive use of its forces; and Rejoice in the Lamb, a masterly expression of the liberal spirit, never ceases to amaze with its evocation of the cat Jeoffry, valiant mouse and staff-struck poet. Recorded sound isn't as vivid as the performances, but this remains a very likeable disc.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Truro may be leagues away from Britten's Aldeburgh, but there's something in the Cornish air that connects its cathedral choristers to the spiritual substance of the East Anglian composer's choral music...the tonally rich blend of organ, choir and cathedral acoustics help lift this recording above the ordinary.” Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 ****

“The immediate impression with the Truro disc is the warmth of sound and generous acoustic...Under Christopher Gray...the cathedral choir has developed a particualrly rich and smooth sound, with a security of intonation which is magnificently exhibited in the unaccompanied items here, not least a top-notch performance of the Hymn to St Cecilia and a marvellous performance of The Sycamore Trees.” International Record Review, May 2011

“A very fine recording” Gramophone Magazine

“For the first time in a recording the congregational hymns are included in Matthew Best's fresh and atmospheric account of Saint Nicolas, adding greatly to the emotional impact of the whole cantata.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition